


my head is like a prison cell, I'm all by myself

by GilgaNyan (NarryEm)



Series: Volleyball!! Gays [30]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Heavy Angst, M/M, No Fluff, What-If, pretty big divergence if ya ask me lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 01:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11071035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/GilgaNyan
Summary: What if Kageyama took up the referral and went to Seijou?  What if he decided to defeat Oikawa from within the team  rather than across the net?  What if he never met his saving grace in Karasuno and never had the chance to redeem himself?This is an AU where everything changes because of one choice that one boy made.





	my head is like a prison cell, I'm all by myself

**Author's Note:**

> title from "Waiting for a Friend" by The Pretty Reckless
> 
> So I saw some amazing fanart of Kags in Seijou team so my overly active imaginatice writing centre spun this out.  I am not entirely familiar with the Japanese education system (hell I hardly know enough things about the Canadian one haha)
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I know I should work on chaptered fics and perhaps that isn’t all gloom and doom but this is who I am naturally dammit~~

 

 

“The coach at Aoba Jousai thinks highly of you,” the counselling teacher comments.  “You will be able to get in with no entrance exam requirements.  I hear that a lot of our alumni choose to go there.”

Tobio considers his choices.  He knows that the majority of the graduates from Kitagawa Daiichi go to Aoba Jousai due to its proximity and excellent education system.  But he also knows that Oikawa-senpai and his former teammates will be there.

The same teammates who uprose against him and left him behind.

He shakes his head mentally.  He refuses to stay weak and dwell in the past.  It is true that he vowed to overcome Oikawa-san’s prowess; it is also true that the best way to defeat an enemy is to study him.  

So he swallows his pride and agrees with the teacher.  He signs the papers and hopes to the gods that he made the right choice.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Winter comes and goes and the gentle breeze of spring and the scent of flowers fill up the still-chilly air.

Tobio is walking down the streets when he catches a sakura petal as he lands on his shoulder.  The pale pink petals scatter and flutter in the air, floating about with no particular destination.  The girls are giggling as they take photos together on their mobiles and there are also guys watching the girls from afar.

It’s moments like these that remind Tobio of his loneliness.

Being alone never bothered him, at least not until that fateful match.  He did not care to make friends because all that mattered in his mind was getting stronger and winning on the volleyball court.  Who cared if his teammates complained because they could not keep up with Tobio’s abilities?  What was it important to be liked and revered by the people who happened to be on the same side of the net as he?

But now, now his past came crushing down on him.  In the past few months that he spent away from the court, he could not help but wonder like a weak fool: could things have turned out differently had he been kinder with his words?  Smile a bit more and befriend the other guys.  Genuinely care for his teammates as any other senior player would have.

Tobio has yet to find the answers to his questions.  Perhaps joining the Seijou team and meeting Oikawa-senpai again with resolves these . . . complicated feelings that brew and storm inside of him.

(Fuck.  He sounded like some angsty  _ shounen  _ manga protagonist right now, didn’t he?)

The entrance ceremony is as boring, if not more, as he expected it to be.   The principal drones on and on about the new beginnings and recites a few poems, which take up the better part of the first hour.  Thankfully, the first class on his schedule is Classic Japanese, something he is especially bad at.

Second class, however, is physical education, which is taught in conjunction with a few other first year classes.  There is a slim chance that one of those classes may have his former classmates in them.  Seijou is one of the biggest schools in town, after all.

And because the gods would hate for Tobio’s life to be anything but a swift water death trap, Kindaichi happens to be in his gym class.

Marvelous.

He can feel Kindaichi’s resentful glare boring into the back of his skull as he changes into his gym strip as quickly as possible.  His gym teach happens to be the Spartan type, the kind of person who won’t let the kids have it easy just because it is literally their first day of high school.  Tobio keeps his pace constant as he runs twenty laps around the track fiend, making sure to go slower than his usual speed so that he can avoid being near Kindaichi.

As fate would have it, the damn teach randomly assigns Tobio to be in the same team as Kindaichi for what will certainly turn out to be a shit show of a dodgeball game.

Twenty-something kids stand on each side of the ‘court’ and the chalk-lined rectangles can barely contain the students.  Rather than working with Kindaichi, Tobio lets the first rally of the game to clip him on the shoulder.

On his way out,  he hears Kindaichi mutter, “Glad to see that you’ve become a coward, Your Majesty.”

Something clicks inside of Tobio.  All that anger and resentment that he has been harbouring against his teammates boils up inside him.

“Say that again,” he snarls, veering to face Kindaichi again.

Kindaichi smirks.  He picks up the ball (of course it had to be a volleyball) that has rolled off on the ground and points it at Tobio.  “I said.  You have turned into a coward.  Your.  Majesty.”

Tobio snatches up the front of Kindaichi’s t-shirt.  “You dare say that to my face?  After what you’ve done?”

“It is because of what’s happened that I’m saying this to your face, asshole.  Did you ever bother to understand how the rest of us felt back then under your dictatorship?  You can’t play volleyball all by yourself but you acted like you were the only one who had a say in how our team should play.   _ Our  _ team, Kageyama.  Not yours.”

Tobio’s teeth dig into the flesh of his lower lip until the faint metallic tang of blood hits his tongue.

“I wanted us to get stronger,” he retorts.  “I only did what I had to do to win.  It’s not my fault that the rest of you could not keep up!”

From the corner of Tobio’s eyes, he spots Kindaichi’ clench his hands into tight fists.

“Spoken like a true king.  Guess what, Kageyama.  You alone stood above us in raw talent.  A true leader would have acknowledged that.  But you never did that.  You never thought to consider our individual strengths.  That’s why we abandoned you.”

What happens next is over in a flash.  Kindaichi has been thrown onto the ground and a bruise is forming on the side of his face.  Pain radiates from the left side of Tobio’s face and oh, he must have punched Kindaichi and gotten punched in return.  The teacher is frantic in her attempt to separate them.  (She is freakishly strong for someone her size)

Ten minutes later, Tobio finds himself in the vice principal’s office alongside Kindaichi.  The left side of his face is numb and feels quite swollen.  A part of him wonders if his face looks as beaten up as Kindaichi, who has been forced to take a seat right next to Tobio.

“Kageyama-kun and Kindaichi-kun, is it?” the vice principal addresses them.  They both murmur their yes.

“Fighting on the first day of school.  I must say that you made history in that regard,” she says with a smile.

“I won’t ask why and who started the fight,” she continues.  “What matters is the fact that it happened.  Normally, I ought to suspend you for a week.  But since it is only the first day of school, I think that two weeks of detention and a letter of reflection shall suffice.  And you have to do it together as a collaboration.”

“But–” their plea is cut off with a stern wave of the hand.

“Would you rather that I suspend you and call your parents as though you were elementary school kids?”

Tobio shakes his head.  He assumes that Kindaichi does so as well.

“Splendid.  You may now return to your class.  Ah, Kageyama-kun, please do stay for an extra minute or two.  I wish to speak to you alone.”

Kindaichi bows his head and throws a glare over his shoulder at Tobio before he leaves.  Tobio begins to sweat as he remains seated.  What does the vice principal want now?

“Kageyama-kun,” Tobio flinches.  He was lost in his thoughts for a second there.  

“Yes, ma’am?”

She smiles again, looking not unlike a kind mother of a child.  “No need to look so tense.  I only wish to give you a piece of advice.”

“. . . okay.”

“Do not let history repeat itself, dear.  I know what happened in middle school, Kageyama-kun.  Your talent has been widely speculated.  Us high school teachers like to gossip too, you know.  We would place bets in a joking manner to see which school you would pick.  A lot of us believed that you would go to Shiratorizawa since they are a volleyball powerhouse.”

“I did, ma’am.  But their entrance exam was way over my head.”

“I heard that, too.  The coach was kind of disappointed.  But he also said that he has no need for a selfish brat who cannot think of his own teammates as, frankly put, fellow human beings.  I know, Kageyama-kun, that it is easy to let your boundless talent go to your head.  However, your arrogance and selfish playing only led to your own demise.   I do not wish for you to repeat the same mistakes.  I want your high school years to be the time of your life that you can look back and smile upon.  Three years is too long of a period to spend alone, especially as the university exams encroach.  It should be the peak of your youth spent with friends and laughter, not alone and resentful.  For your own sake, please do change the way you play volleyball.”

Every single word that the vice principal speaks spears Tobio’s heart as though they were made of physical objects.  He knows.  He fucking knows that it was his own fault that he got left behind by his teammates at Kitagawa Daiichi.  But changing how he thinks and play is not easy.  He lusts for victory as much as the not player and he knows that he lets that overtake him.

What the vice principal said is true, though.  He cannot let history repeat itself.  He does not want to give up volleyball due to his own ruthless selfishness.

“That is all.  Enjoy the rest of your day, Kageyama-kun,” the teacher dismisses him.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he says reflexively.

His head is a blank space void of emotions and coherent thoughts as he walks to his classroom.  He can see the students in twos and threes, whispering as he passes them by.  His reputation proceeds him as per usual and he can’t find the energy to glare at them like he always does.

The rest of the day is a blur.  The words of his fight with Kindaichi has spread like wildfire.  Everywhere he goes, he can hear the other kids talk about him as if he were wearing a flaming crown made of thorns.

Thankfully, both of his parents are still at work when he comes home.  Normally, he would go out for a jog or do some muscle training.  Not today.  He can’t be bothered.  Instead, he sinks into his bed and closes his eyes.

 

 

Even his own unconscious could not be kind to him.

Tobio opens his eyes, only to find himself on the volleyball court.  The sounds of the balls bouncing off surfaces, shoes squeaking on the waxed floor and people shouting encouragements and directions fill up the air.

A volleyball comes flying in Tobio’s direction.  When he opens his mouth to call it, his throat tightens up.  It feels as though someone is physically wrapping their fingers around his windpipe to restrict his airflow and talking abilities.

To his utmost dismay, the ball passes cleanly through Tobio’s body as though he is not even there.  Every single muscle in his body has seized up, unable to react to the sounds and sights around him.  The game goes on smoothly.  For some reason, he cannot see the faces of his old teammates clearly.  It has got to be the Kitagawa Daiichi, judging by their uniform colours.

Then why aren’t they talking to him?  Why can’t he interact with them either?

Tears of anguish and frustration fill up his eyes.   He has no choice but to let them stream down his face as his body has frozen solid.  Like a statue.

(Of a king, his mind supplies)

This has got to be a nightmare.  He will feel despair only when he can no longer play volleyball, is that not what he told himself?  This is exactly it.  Even if it’s all in his head, it is just as devastating.

_ “Don’t give up,”  _ an unfamiliar voice says.  It’s faint, it’s as if Tobio’s head is underwater several metres and the only thing that is keeping him going is this mysterious person’s voice.

_ “If you are the king who rules the court.  I’ll have to defeat you and I’ll be the last one standing!” _

Damn.  he heard that from someone; he can recall some midget challenging with those brazen words.

But who was it?

In the depths of his nightmare, all that his mind can conjure up is a hazy silhouette burning bright with orange hair like the colour of sunset.

Who are you? He manages to mouth at the figure stood beside him.  When did he collapse to his hands and knees?  And why the fuck is this stranger offering a hand for him to help himself up?

“Isn’t obvious?” the boy says with a grin, a genuine smile that Tobio can never figure out the reason behind.

Tobio shakes his head.

The boy purses his lips and crouches down until his face is less than half a metre apart from Tobio’s.  His brown eyes are full of life and warmth and innocence.  His face does not register in Tobio’s mind; however there is something strangely familiar about the kindness and determination exuding from his petit body.

The little spell over Tobio’s body breaks as the boy’s lips touch Tobio’s forehead.  Sensation and movement returns to Tobio’s fingers down to his toes.

But he still is not quick enough to catch the boy before he disappears to the other side of the gym.

Tobio dashes after that boy as a man would run towards an oasis after wandering the desert for weeks.  He stops shorts in his tracks as the walls of the gym melt away into the vast blue of the skies outside.  Scent of grass and rain fills his nostrils and surely enough, he is soaked to his bones in a matter of seconds.  The cold raindrops are not enough to cool him off.  Rather, his burning question refuses to simmer down.  Tobio begrudgingly drops his gaze to the wet ground

“You are so reckless,” the voice from before says with a laugh.  By the time Tobio looks up to the source of the voice, that boy is standing in front of him.  

Now that they are both standing up, it is obvious that the other boy is quite shorter than Tobio.

The boy frowns.  “You are thinking about how you’re taller than me, ain’t ya?”

Tobio scoffs.  “So what it I am?  What were you even doing on the court.”

The boy gives him the exact same smile from before.  “Isn’t it obvious?”

Tobio sighs.  “I don’t have time for your bullshit.  Unlike you,  I have a life and things to do.”

“You’ll never enjoy volleyball the way you used to if you keep going like this.”

The boy’s words leave a thundering echo behind.  And before Tobio has the chance to retort, he is falling, falling, and—

 

 

Tobio wakes with his palms cold with sweat.  He can’t move.  Damn it.  He must be still dreaming.

Oh.  It’s just his sheets.  He must have moved around so much in his sleep that he has got himself tangled up in the sheets.  He has to come up with some creative manoeuvres to free himself since his arms are pinned down.

He can’t go back to sleep now, not like this.  A quick glimpse of his alarm clock tells him that it is nine minutes past midnight.  He promptly gets out of his bed and puts on his running gear.  Since he is to wound up to feel tired, he supposes that he can work out to work off some of this excess nerves, some odd buzz under his skin.

Luckily, both of his parents are sound asleep when he quietly exits out of his house.  (He does not know why he feels like some delinquent son sneaking away to meet up with his pals or whatever.)  The moon is full tonight and coupled with the wispy clouds, it appears to be brimming with mysterious beauty.

He has made it halfway up the mountain pass to the neighbouring town when he hears something.  It’s an unmistakable sound of a person’s footsteps.  No way.  He hasn’t heard of a kidnapping case in the recent years.  It’s Miyagi, after all.

He whirls around with his fists ready at his sides.

“Whoa, calm down!” the person exclaims.  “If looks could kill, I’d be dead three times by now.”

“Hah?”

The person in question is just a kid.  A kid with bright orange hair and curious brown eyes that are visible even in the dark of the night.  He is dragging a bicycle on his side.

“What are you doing out so late?  Good kids should go to bed early,” Tobio advises.

The kid fumes.  “I am not a kid!  I’m in high school, dammit!”

“My bad,” Tobio turns back around.  Now that he has been made aware, he can hear the  _ click clacks  _ of the bike chains.  

“Why aren’t you on the bike?” he asks.

The kid has caught up to him, staring at Tobio as though  _ he  _ were the idiot here.  “Can’t you see that the chain’s all messed up?  I haven’t the proper tools to fix it so I gotta go home first.”

They walk in silence for a couple minutes.

“Hey, hey,” the kid says, pulling on Tobio’s sleeve.  “What were you doing out past midnight?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Tobio retorts.  He decides to answer nevertheless.  “I couldn’t fall asleep to I went for a jog.  Somehow I ended up on the road that leads up the mountain.  What about you?”

The other boy grins.  “I live in the town over on the other side of the mountain.  Same reason, I guess.  I really shouldn’t have come this far considering that I have to make this trip again in the morning.”

“Why?” Tobio finds himself asking before the words fully register in his head.  He just met this guy not even ten minutes ago.  Why does he care to know about this random boy’s motives?

“School,” he answers with a shrug.  “I really love volleyball and this awesome player went to Karasuno, too!  They called him the Little Giant.”

‘Huh,” Tobio mutters.  He can vaguely recall hearing that name on the television several years ago.  The Little Giant was no taller than 170cm, but his jumping abilities made it look like he could fly past the much taller blockers.

“Do you like volleyball, too?” the boy asks.  “Oh, how rude of me.  My name is—”

“Shou-chan!” a woman calls out.  A car rolls up to them and ‘Shou-chan’ looks scared.  “There you are!  I’ve been searching everywhere for you!  What did I say about these so-called midnight special training sessions?”

“That I shouldn’t go on those,’ Shou-chan mumbles.

“Sorry about this,” the lady says.  “My son is a bit of a hard-head.  I hope he hasn’t been too much of a bother to you.”

“N-not at all, ma’am,” Tobio answers out of reflex.  

“Alright then.  Good night.”

Shou-chan turns around to wave goodbye before he climbs into the car.  He jumps back out with a weird yell when he realises that he forgot his bike.  He puts the bike in the car boot with his mother (Tobio guesses) watching fondly.

“What the hell,” Tobio mutters to himself as he watches the car go up the mountain.  “What just happened?”

He shakes his head.  He should return home himself.  Morning training is set to begin at seven o’clock sharp and he can’t afford to be tuckered out before that.

 

 

“No way!” Tobio cries out.

“Sorry, Kageyama,” Iwaizumi-senpai offers, looking genuinely apologetic unlike his friend and captain stood behind him.  Oikawa-senpai truly does not look happy to find him at the volleyball club room.

“This is why first-years should be selected more carefully, Iwa-chan~” Oikawa-san singsongs.  “Our team would soon have the reputation of being full of punch-happy gorillas if we let any riffraffs in as they please.”

“To be fair, Kindaichi provoked him a little bit,” Iwaizumi-san points out.  Oikawa-san continues to pull faces at them.  “Quit it, Oikawa.  Can’t you act like a respectable upperclassman for once?”

Under any other circumstances, Tobio would have found it funny: the way Oikawa-san fears only Iwaizumi-san and the way Iwaizumi sound undoubtedly spoils Oikawa-san.  However, it is his club activity at stake here.

“The vice principal came to inform us yesterday.  She apologized for forgetting to tell you herself.  If it’s of any consolation, Kindaichi can’t join the club practice for the next week either.”

“I, it’s fine.  Thank you, Iwaizumi-san.”

Iwaizumi-san smiles.  “Thanks for understanding.  There’s only so much we can do as captains.  Maybe you should learn to, ah, hold back.  Kindaichi won’t be the last person to call you ‘king’.  I’m sure other schools will use it against you to taunt you.  Don’t let it all get to your head, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Iwaizumi-san pats him on the shoulder.  “I really am sorry that you came all this way for nothing.  You can use this time to get ahead in your studies, perhaps?”

Oikawa-san bursts out laughing.  “Iwa-chan~  I do hope that you were joking.  Tobio-chan here would not have made it past the entrance exams if not for the rec he got.  He truly is an idiot off the court.’

“Shut up, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi-san yells.  “What did I just say about being an upperclassman?”

Oikawa-san waves off the comment.  “I’m have you know, I’m a perfect gentleman to the ladies and underclassmen I actually care about.  Bratty kings can go to hell for all I care.  See you next week, Tobio-chan~”

Iwaizumi-san all but punches Oikawa-san in the stomach on their way inside the gym.  Tobio sighs.  Maybe he can prove Oikawa-san wrong by using his newfound free time to go and study.

Or he can practice outside.  He is only banned from attending club activities right?  He can still play volleyball.  Granted, it’s tough and boring to practice alone but it’s better than sitting out for a whole week.

He can make this work.  He _ will  _ make this work.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Kageyama, can we talk outside?  Alone, please?”

Normally, that kind of line would be spoken by a cute girl with hopeful eyes.  Not in Tobio’s case.  

Iwaizumi-san has a towel slung about his shoulders and both of them are drenched in sweat.  Afternoon practice ended a few minutes ago and everyone is gearing up for voluntary extra practice.

 

Two months have gone by since the first day of school.  Inter-High is fast approaching and the intensity of their training has gone up recently.  Kageyama knows that Seijou is one of the strongest and he has no doubt that they can take victory home.

“Yes, sir.”

He takes a gulp from his water bottle and follows Iwaizumi-san outside.

Iwaizumi heaves a loud sigh, taking Tobio by surprise.

“How should I start this.  Fuck, Oikawa, that shithead.  He can’t even act like a captain when he needs to the most!”

“Iwaizumi-san?” Tobio is confused, to say the least.

“Kageyama.  You know why your teammates, erm, acted the way they did during that match in junior high, right?” Iwaizumi-san asks bluntly.

His words are like spears that pierce through Tobio’s heart.

“Y-yes.”

“See, I know that you are a brilliant setter, Kageyama,” Iwaizumi-san resumes.  “But we can’t afford to have a dictator when our goal is to go to the nationals.  Oikawa cannot match in terms of raw talent but his ability to see each individual player’s strengths and bring out the 120% of their strengths in-game is something that you have yet to achieve. 

“I tried to give you time to work it out yourself but you have not shown any improvements in that regard.  You remain the stubborn king of the court and we don’t need that in our team.  At this rate, all the first years from Kitagawa might boycott to have to thrown out the team.  I don’t want that.  Oikawa will never admit to it but he doesn’t want to see that happen either.  He’s the kinda bastard who will use anyone to climb to the top, even if it means that he has to work with a bratty kouhai who threatens his position.”

“I threaten his—” he is cut off by a wave of the vice captain’s hand.

“The point is, you need to change.  Over half of our team is from Kitagawa and they know you.  They fear you and your dictatorship.  If you can’t show me that you are capable of changing in the next week, I’m afraid that Oikawa and I will need to ask you to leave.”

“But, the team, I—”

Iwaizumi-san rests a hand on top of Tobio’s head.  “Sorry, Kageyama.  The decision is final and the coach thinks I’m weird for even giving you a grace period.  Please prove them wrong and show them that you’re not the same guy from middle school.”

“Yes . . . sir . . . .”

 

 

It’s been five days since he heard those words from Iwaizumi-san.  He tried.  He fucking tried to change the way he plays.  He watched the players more; he listened to the way they communicated.

But he still could not figure out exactly what it was that he had to change about himself.

Which is why he found himself jogging up the same mountain pass at five in the morning on a Sunday.  He has come back to this spot several times since his chance meeting with ‘Shou-chan’.  However, he has never been able to see his face again.

“Damn it.  What are you, some lovesick chick?” he berates himself.

“Who’s like a lovesick chick?”

Tobio nearly screams.  He does lose his balance and ends up tumbling into the bush on the side of the road.

“Whoops!  My bad.  Here!”

It’s ‘Shou-chan’.  Tobio would recognise that hair and those eyes from anywhere.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he says with a sheepish smile.  He helps Tobio to his feet.  “I didn’t even get to introduce myself properly back then.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Hinata.  Hinata Shouyou!” Hinata holds out his hand.

“. . . Kageyama Tobio.” 

He shakes Hinata’s hand.  HInata’s hand is unbelievably warm and soft and strangely comforting.

“Hey, I never did hear you answer.”

“Answer to what?”

Hinata grins.  “If you liked volleyball or not.”

“Oh.  That.  I like volleyball.  I’ve been playing since second grade in elementary school.”

“That’s so cool!  What position do you play?  I’m the middle blocker.”

“Really?”

Hinata sighs.  “You must think that I must be joking since I’m so short.  I may be short, but I can fly!”

“I’m not gonna doubt you on that.  I play setter, by the way.”

“That’s cool.  You’re not at all like our setter.  Suga-senpai is so kind and soft.  Not that you’re mean!  You, uh, just give off his badass vibe, that’s all.”

“Whatever, I don’t care.”

Tobio is about to leave when Hinata tugs on his sleeve.  “Hey, Kageyama.  Give me a toss!”

“Hah?”

Hinata produces a volleyball from his bag.  “I’m never without this.  We can go to the park on the top of this mountain if you’re worried about the time and place.”

“Sure.”

Hinata is sure fast for someone his size.  He easily keeps up with Tobio and they are at the park in no time.   Tobio stretches out his arms since he does not want to risk a pulled muscle or a cramp.  He is quite impressed by how loud and excessive Hinata is during his own warm-up.

“Here we go!” he exclaims excitedly.  His serve is shit but Tobio manages to return.  He decides on a soft, floaty set-up since he has never seen Hinata play before.

What he sees next stuns him.  Hinata jumps; no, he is soaring.  He was not kidding when he claimed that he could fly.  He ends up over-jumping and misses the ball.

“Crap.  I overdid it, didn’t I?” Hinata scratches the back of his head.

“What the hell was that?” Tobio blurts out.

“Ah, a failed quick?”

“Not that.  You weren’t joking when you said that you could fly!”

“I don’t make a habit of lying, Kageyama-kun~  Now, shall we try that again?”

It takes them a better part of the next hour to synch up.  Hinata’s jumps are erratic and Tobio cannot predict what Hinata will do next.  But there is no denying the potential in the smaller boy.

“Hey, Kageyama,” Hinata says during a break.  “Can I ask you something personal?”

Tobio purses his lips.  “Whatever.”

“Why is it that you look so sad when you toss?  It was the same back when I met you that night.  You seemed pretty upset.”

Tobio grits his teeth.  “How would you feel if I told you that you can no longer play volleyball?”

He doesn’t understand why he is telling all of his woes to Hinata, a virtual stranger.  They met twice and what good is it going to do for Tobio to bitch to Hinata.

“Wow, that was drastic,” Hinata comments.  “Can I ask why?”

“Your teammates hate your guts because you are a ruthless dictator.  Your captains tried to reconcile but saw no hope in the way you played.  So you’re given an ultimatum.  Either kiss and make up with the same guys you treated like scum during middle school or never play in a team again.”

“Again, wow.”  Hinata ponders it for a moment.  “And this is happening to you?  That’s harsh, man.  I . . . dang.  It’d be painful.  I’d want to stop.  But when I feel that way I take a step forwards.”

It could be the lack of sleep getting to Tobio’s brain but suddenly, Hinata appears to be glowing.  Shining like the sun rising above them.

“Thanks,” Kageyama mutters.

Hinata grins.  “Anytime.  Now would a king thank his lowly subject?  I think not.  Truth is, you are not half bad as people think you are.  Deep down, you care and that alone makes you something other than a selfish dictator.”

He stands up, once again extending his hand towards Tobio.  “Now, shall we continue?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“I gotta say, I didn’t actually think that you could do it.”

Iwaizumi-san says as they enter the Sendai City Gymnasium. The time for the Inter High School Tournament has arrived already.

Tobio himself finds it hard to believe that he made it this far.  He thought that it was equally likely that he would be kicked out of the team.  Instead, he was given the chance to share the court with Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san, and play on the same side and Kindaichi and Kunimi again.

For a second, he thinks that he spots a familiar face on the stands.  A glint of orange that he has seen before.  When he blinks, the face is gone.

Whatever.  He should not be getting distracted.   The only thing on his mind should be victory and victory alone.

**Author's Note:**

> You know what, lining up the loneliest songs and topping off with “Waiting for a Friend” by The Pretty Reckless was not the best idea.  Gdi Emily you are a world class boge.


End file.
